The savagely mutilated body of a farmer's wife is found on the moors, seemingly attacked by a wild animal, presumed to be a panther. Soon after, about 20 miles away, a man’s body is found with similar injuries but this time in a car park, known as a haunt for gay men looking for a rendezvous. What starts off as a who-dun-it gets spookier, as it almost becomes a gothic horror with a hint of the supernatural. The very atmosphere of Saddleworth Moor in winter is scary enough to frighten anyone. Soon the whole population of nearby Manchester is alarmed, causing gung-ho hunters and riflemen to risk everyone's life by acting like cowboys and shooting anything moving, including family pets.DI Jon Spicer is not convinced that the killer is a panther and looks for a human suspect, not an easy task when many people appear to be keeping secrets and the press and the public are caught up in a terror scare. This threatens to undermine the case which DI Spicer is methodically constructing. The author then springs another surprise in a story that shows that savagery can take many forms.This is a good read, like a cross between a Daziel and Pascoe novel crossed with 'The Hound of the Baskervilles. There's a good balance between the work on the investigation and Jon Spicer's realistically normal home life. It's nice that not all detectives have to be socially inept and lonely. ( )

The body of a woman with her throat ripped out is found on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester. She is discovered in an area where numerous sightings of a mysterious big black cat have been made. When analysis shows the hairs caught under her nails are those of a panther, it's assumed the animal has killed its first human victim. But then a man DI Jon Spicer is investigating as part of an entirely different case is murdered in exactly the same way. Only this time the body is found in a secluded car park - a popular gay rendezvous far closer to the city centre. Soon DI Spicer finds himself hunting a killer dubbed The Monster of the Moor, a creature whose stealth and savagery strike terror into the local population and way beyond it.

May contain spoilers.

I thought this book was going to be about werewolves, but in fact the killings look like they are committed by a black panther roaming on the moors and getting nearer to the city. DI John Spicer is soon on the case. It was an OK thriller and I guessed how the crimes were committed but I guessed wrong who was doing them and why. I had a few niggles with this book, but not sure if I am being too picky. Firstly don’t the Greater Manchester police have sat nav’s in the cars now a days, in the book the police refer to A to Z. Secondly Spicer seems very selfish, and when his wife Alice is suffering with PND, he continues to work on the case rather than helping his wife, including when she goes missing and taking the baby with her. Also ( told you I was bee picky ) Spicer is a DI and does not know how to access a forum on a computer, he seems not to have a clue, but then when his wife is ill, he can go to the computer and go into the history to see what she has been looking at. This book is part of series and I haven’t read any of the others so I guess that the characters do have history and maybe it should be read as a whole. Not sure about the title of the book either as it didn't match the content. ( )

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"The body of a woman with her throat ripped out is found on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester. She is discovered in an area where there have been numberous sightings of a mysterious large black cat. When analysis shows the hairs caught under the dead woman's nails are those of a panther, it is assumed that the animal has killed its first human victim. But then a man DI Jon Spicer is investigating as part of another case is murdered in exactly the same way. Only this time the body turns up in a secluded part - a popular gay rendezvous far closer to the city centre. Soon DI Spicer finds himself hunting a killer dubbed the Monster of the Moor, a creature whose stealth and savagery strike terror into the local population and way beyond."--Book jacket.… (more)